Employee Relations Specialist – AR

Job Details

Employee Relations Specialist

Southern Housing

About Us

Our vision is to create communities where everyone has a safe home in a place they’re proud to live. At Southern Housing, we are both a large organisation and deeply local—residents remain at the heart of everything we do. We use our scale and influence to drive positive change in the areas where we operate.

Everything we do is underpinned by our HEART values:

  • Honest
  • Efficient
  • Accountable
  • Respectful
  • Trusted

We expect all colleagues to demonstrate these values in their everyday behaviours, actions, and communication, contributing to a culture of integrity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

The Role

Reporting to the Lead Employee Relations (ER) Manager, the Employee Relations Specialist will provide expert support to managers and colleagues across all areas of employee relations casework, including complex and high-risk cases, within a shared services environment.

You will work closely with the Lead ER Manager and Strategic People Business Partners to ensure a consistent, legally compliant, and high-quality People service across the organisation.

The role is based primarily at our Farringdon office, with hybrid working arrangements agreed with your manager. Some travel to other sites may be required to support managers and colleagues.

Key Responsibilities

  • Provide professional, consistent, and legally compliant advice on all aspects of employee relations casework, including sickness absence, conduct, capability, and grievance matters
  • Manage a high-volume and complex caseload, ensuring timely resolution in line with policies, procedures, and SLAs
  • Coach and support line managers to build capability and confidence in handling ER issues effectively
  • Maintain strong working relationships with recognised trade unions and colleague forums, fostering trust and collaboration
  • Support the development and delivery of line manager upskilling in partnership with ER, People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and Learning & Culture teams
  • Oversee sickness absence case management alongside the ER Advisor
  • Produce, analyse, and interpret case data and management information to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement
  • Contribute to the development of ER-related KPIs and service performance reporting
  • Support preparation of Employment Tribunal documentation, including ET3 responses, ensuring accuracy and timely submission
  • Contribute to People projects and change initiatives as required
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of employment legislation and best practice
  • Support the Lead ER Manager and deputise when required
  • Ensure all activity aligns with organisational policies, compliance requirements, and EDI, Health & Safety, and Code of Conduct standards

Experience & Skills Required

  • Extensive experience advising managers on complex employee relations casework (sickness, conduct, capability, and grievance)
  • Proven experience managing a high-volume ER caseload in a fast-paced environment
  • Strong understanding and application of employment law, policies, and HR best practice
  • Experience preparing documentation for Employment Tribunals
  • Ability to analyse case data and provide meaningful insight and recommendations
  • Strong coaching and influencing skills, particularly with line managers
  • Experience working with trade unions and/or employee representative groups (desirable)
  • CIPD Level 5 or equivalent experience in employee relations (CIPD Level 7 desirable but not essential)

Behaviours & Values

At Southern Housing, we expect all colleagues to:

  • Be authentic, open, and transparent in all interactions
  • Work collaboratively as One Team to improve services and outcomes
  • Take ownership and accountability for delivering excellence
  • Put residents, colleagues, and partners at the centre of decision-making
  • Be reliable and deliver on commitments
  • Actively support Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Health & Safety, Compliance, and organisational policies

Additional Information

This job description is not exhaustive. You may be required to undertake other duties consistent with the role and grade as needed.